Miguel Angel Jimenez strolls onto the ninth green during the second round of the 2013 British Open at Muirfield Golf Club. / Paul Cunningham, USA TODAY Sports

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY

On a day when Lee Westwood made bogey on three of his final six holes and still managed to tie for the day's lowest round, a 68, the British Open became a survival test - with Muirfield Golf Club clearly holding the upper hand.

One by one the leaders fell on another bright, relatively tranquil day off the Firth of Forth, with the firmness and speed of the course and the severity of the pin placements being the main impediments to good scoring instead of the usual inclement weather that regularly strikes this part of Scotland.

With every player on edge whether on the tee of this baked-out links, or in the yellow and brown fairways, or on the greens that Phil Mickelson said were running faster than those at Augusta National during the Masters, Miguel Angel Jimenez, who at 49 is trying to become the oldest player to win a major, took the lead Friday after 36 holes in the oldest major championship in golf.

Jimenez, nicknamed the Mechanic and dubbed the Most Interesting Man in the World for his free-spirited ways that usually involve cigars and wine, shot an even-par 71 to stand alone at 3 under 139. He leads a group of some of the game's best players by one shot - world No. 1 Tiger Woods (69-71), Westwood (72-68), Dustin Johnson (68-72) and Henrik Stenson (70-70).

"I think it's one of the most difficult tests that we've had," said Mickelson, who had a four-putt on No. 15 en route to a 74 that left him at 1 over.

And the first two rounds might be the easiest the players will see the course this week. The forecast calls for two more days of dry heat that will burn out the course even more. Yet to be determined is how much water tournament officials will put on the greens, if any.

"This course will get nothing but tougher and tougher," said Graeme McDowell, who is 4 over after a 71. "Literally anything a little under par could win at this point. We saw how difficult it can be (Thursday). After (Friday), I'd imagine they can sort of let the hand break off and let the golf course accelerate away from us. It will be interesting to see what happens this weekend, but I don't expect the scoring to be much better.

" â?¦ But it's supposed to be tough."

It's been plenty tough the first two days. In the first round, 20 players broke par. Now, only nine remain in red figures. Making a birdie was cause for mini-celebrations throughout the day. Woods forcefully thrust his left hand into the air as the ball disappeared for a birdie on the 18th hole for a climactic ending to another difficult battle, where shooting even par left him pleased. Despite missing two putts inside 4 feet, Woods, seeking his first major title in five years, was right there again in a major championship after 36 holes.

"I'm in a good spot. ... (I'll) just continue plodding along. Just continue just being patient, putting the ball in the right spots," Woods said. "We're not going to get a lot of opportunities out there, but when I have, I've been able to capitalize, and hopefully I can continue doing that.

"I've put myself there (in majors), I just haven't won. I've had chances on the back nine on many of those Sundays. It's just one of those things where I haven't gotten it done."

Overnight leader Zach Johnson didn't get much done in the second round. After making one bogey during his opening-round 66, he made six bogeys and a double-bogey to shoot 75 and is 1 under. He twice made birdies to get into the lead at 5 under only to go backward each time, first with consecutive bogeys, the second time with a bogey and a double-bogey when he three-putted from 12 feet.

"It was a grind from the first shot to my last 3-, 4-footer, whatever it was, on 18," Johnson said. "Just trying to pick the right club, trying to pick the right target, with the right shot was very difficult. You don't want to over-think it, so you've got that going through your mind as well. And truly, I mean, for the most part the entire day I'm trying to two-putt from 15 feet and beyond.

"There are not many pins you can get at. So if you make a putt, you just go to the next tee, you just get out of there. â?¦ Every major championship can be humbling. I mean, to be honest with you, I played pretty good today. I didn't hit that many bad shots."

Brandt Snedeker four-putted the 15th hole and fell off the first page of the leaderboard with a 79.

"I don't know what we're supposed to do to hit a green," he said. "I don't know if it's fair or not. We all had to play the same golf course. They need to put some water on it. Everything is dead. You've got fairways that are running 15 in some spots. You can't stand up, you can slip. It's just really, really firm.

"You're just going to have to deal with that in a major. Some guys shot under-par scores or around par. I think anything around par was a good score. You can't complain about it. Guys survived it, so it's not like it's unplayable."

Those who won't be playing any more golf after missing the cut of 8 over were world No. 2 Rory McIlroy (79-75), reigning U.S. Open champ Justin Rose (75-77), Luke Donald (80-72) and Rickie Fowler (78-76).

As for Jimenez, he's just ecstatic to be playing golf after breaking his leg while skiing in January. He was itching to get back to the golf course before the cast set. While his leg has healed, his good humor also has remained intact. When asked how he is able to lead the tournament at 49, and if he were to win he'd be the oldest to win a major championship, Jimenez wasted little time putting the questionnaire on the spot.

"Why? I have not the right to do it? Only the young people can do it?" he said. "I'm fine. I keep playing golf and still get myself on the golf course, and that's the secret. Enjoy yourself what you do in life. That's what I'm doing. I feel relaxed. And I tell you, I love what I'm doing. I play golf. I do this for a living. And I've (kept) doing the same thing for 25 years. Probably sometime you say if I think maybe it's too many years, but you're wrong. It's the only thing I like to do in my life. And then I enjoy myself. I keep elastic and flexible. I'm still training and walking and still able to shoot low

"Tomorrow if I cannot shoot low, then I will not be here, you don't worry. I wouldn't waste my time moving around the world kicking my ass."

Jimenez said the key to his rounds had just as much to do with making birdies as it did with avoiding bogeys.

"It's much better to feel when you were on the top of the leaderboard than when you were somewhere else on the leaderboard, no?" Jimenez said. "Obviously it's much nice, no? I have been playing very well, feeling solid and consistent on the golf course. This condition is tough. The golf course is very hard. Some of the positions, the pin positions, they are very tough. And then of course even when you play well, you're going to miss some greens, you're going to miss some fairways. But the game at the moment is consistent, all parts of the game. I made some recoveries.